Interactive media guidance application with intelligent navigation and display features

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are disclosed that allow a user to efficiently navigate media selections in an interactive media guidance application and easily identify media for viewing. The disclosed methods and systems provide an environment wherein video assets are displayed according to a user preference on a mosaic page with multiple cells. A subset of the assets appropriate for display in a particular cell is determined based on the user preference. Relevance scores of the assets meeting the user preference are computed, and the asset having the greatest relevance for the user is selected and displayed the corresponding cell. The relevance scores can be computed based on the user&#39;s historic viewing habits, user interaction with a media guidance application, or on specific user input.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an interactive media guidance application thatdisplays a mosaic page with selectable windows and/or cells personalizedfor a user or group of users, and more particular to an interactivemedia guidance application that displays video assets based on anexpressed or historic interest of the user or group of users.

One exemplary interactive media guidance application is an interactiveprogram guide (IPG) that allows television program information to bedisplayed on a user's television. Interactive program guides allow theuser to navigate through television program information in the form oftelevision program listings using a remote control.

Existing interactive program guides generally offer program guide datain a form of a menu with a program mix that is predetermined by thenetwork operator. Program listings often show information regardingtelevision programming in a neutral manner, such as texturalinformation, that contain little, if any visual information, about thebroadcaster and the contents of a program. Since the mix of programmingoptions is fixed, it can in many cases not accommodate and/or remembercustomized settings for groups of users or individual users. A usertypically is presented with a main menu and has to click through severaloptions before arriving at a program habitually watched by the user.

Due to the ever increasing number of channels and services, such asVideo-On-Demand (VOD), High-Definition Television (HDTV), Pay-per-View(PPV), Digital Video Recorder (DVR), music channels, etc., digital cableand digital satellite broadcast (DSB), subscribers are faced with anon-going challenge of simplifying and enhancing their TV viewingexperience. In other forms of entertainment, for example, video andaudio streamed over the Internet, TV users also lack the opportunity topersonalize the vast array of television offerings and to present theseoffering in an informative and manageable form.

In many cases, a user tends to watch a limited number of favoritechannels or is interested in certain genres or topics. Although detailedinformation about video assets available on other channels or from othersources is generally available, for example, supplied by the serviceprovider with the interactive media guidance application, the user maybe unaware of the information and may never access the asset.

It would therefore be desirable to provide systems and methods topresent video assets to a user in a more user-friendly and interactivemanner. It would also be desirable to provide systems and methods thatcan present a user with a personalized mosaic page based on the user'shistoric or expressed preferences, such as topics, names of shows,actors, sports teams, etc. It would furthermore be desirable to make thepersonalized mosaic page available to the user in a different format,from a different source and/or independent of the user equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other objects of the invention are accomplished in accordancewith the principles of the present invention by providing a personalizedmosaic page with a plurality of cells arranged on the display that arefully customizable, allowing a user or a group of users to create theirown personalized interactive mosaic page. The system can be programmedto intelligently fill in the appropriate cells of the mosaic with themost relevant content for a user or group of users based, for example,on the user's viewing habits or viewing history, or based on active userinput.

The cells on the mosaic page may be partitions of a display screen andmay be selectable. There may be any number of cells on a display screen.The cells may be any size and the cells may be of any shape and may bearranged in any order, definable by the user. Layout and size of thecells may be based on a template which may be user-selectable. Pages andcells may be arranged in a hierarchical structure wherein, for example,a cell on one page is linked to another page and/or to cells on otherpages.

The cells or at least some of the cells may include a “smart feature.”Smart features may also be associated with an entire mosaic page. Thesmart features are designed to allow the system to intelligently fill inthe cells on the mosaic page with the most relevant content for a user.The system can learn the relevance of content from, for example, auser's historic viewing pattern and fill the cells automatically, or theuser can enter or select from a list keywords, search strings or thelike, which the system can then match with information residing on thesystem and/or provided by an interactive media guidance application.User-supplied terms can be suitable parsed and analyzed using, forexample, fuzzy logic and/or neural networks. The results from theanalysis and comparison may be organized in the order of their relevancefor the user.

The system can also learn the relevance of content from user access toweb-based content, such as online TV listings (such as TVGuide®,www.tvguide.com) or from mobile IPG applications accessed, for example,from a mobile phone. Stated differently, in a multi-platformenvironment, relevance of content for a user can be determined from anyinformation about the user preferences to which the system has access.

According to one aspect of the invention, a method for displaying mediaassets of interest to a user includes the steps of arranging on a mosaicpage a plurality of cells and, based on a historic or expressed user'spreference, associating with a cell a subset of the media assets, forexample, one or more of the media assets. The method further includesselecting from the associated assets for display in each cell the assethaving a greatest relevance for the user, and filling each cell on themosaic page with the asset having the greatest relevance.

According to another aspect of the invention, a system for displayingmedia assets of interest to a user includes a display which displays amosaic page having a plurality of cells, and user equipment configuredto associate with a cell a subset of the media assets based on ahistoric or expressed user's preference, to select from the associatedassets for each cell the most relevant asset for the user, and to filleach cell on the mosaic page with the most relevant asset.

In one exemplary embodiment, the user preference can be associated witha media asset's genre and/or a broadcast channel or other program sourcesupplying the asset. The relevance of the asset for the user can beassociated with the user's viewing frequency of the asset, based on acomparison between the user preference and the programming data of aninteractive media guidance application or data related to locally storedprogram content. Programming data can include a title, a show time, amedia channel, and/or a synopsis of the identified content supplied bythe interactive media guidance application. The media asset can beassociated with a television channel, a television service provider, avideo-on-demand (VOD) channel, a pay-per-view (PPV) channel, a recordedvideo (DVR) program, an interactive media guidance application, aweb-site, a program guide service provider, a service, a digital musicprogrammer, and/or a radio station.

The selected asset can be displayed as a preview of the media asset oras a live video. Additional information associated with the asset can bedisplayed on the mosaic page, for example, in a separate window, in amessage bar, whereby the user can be alerted to events of relevance tothe user.

The mosaic pages can be arranged hierarchically, with one pageoptionally a mosaic home page for a user or group of users, and the pagelayout can be selectable by a user, for example, from a template. Thecells on the mosaic page can be associated with interactive features,which may provide the user with an opportunity to watch program contentrelated to a relevant asset, to respond to merchandise offers, to recorda program, and/or to access assets from other channels or sources, suchas an interactive media guidance application.

In another exemplary embodiment, information about the mosaic page on afirst user device may be made available on a second, different userdevice, for example, by sending the information over a network, such asa local area network or the Internet, or by storing and physicallytransporting the information from the first to the second device, forexample, on a flash memory, a memory card, a recordable CD or a DVD.Other electronic devices, such as a suitable remote control, a personaldigital assistant (PDA) and/or a cell phone may also be used fortransporting the information.

Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantageswill be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative interactive media guidance system inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows illustrative user equipment based on a set-top boxarrangement;

FIG. 3 shows another illustrative arrangement for user equipment;

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative remote control for operating usertelevision or computer equipment;

FIG. 5 shows illustrative user computer equipment;

FIG. 6 shows illustrative user equipment located on a home network;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a process for selecting and displayinga mosaic page in accordance with the principles of one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 shows a first exemplary menu screen in which a mosaic page for aparticular user is displayed in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention;

FIG. 9A shows a second exemplary menu screen in which a mosaic pageshowing favorite genres for a particular user is displayed in accordancewith the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 9B shows the mosaic page of FIG. 9A with a favorite genre for aparticular user highlighted;

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary menu screen with a personalized page for aparticular user accessible from another mosaic page of the user;

FIG. 11 shows another exemplary menu screen with a personalized page foranother user accessible from a mosaic page;

FIG. 12 shows an exemplary menu screen in which a mosaic page foranother user is displayed in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention;

FIG. 13 shows an exemplary menu screen in which a mosaic page for agroup of users is displayed in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic process flow for selecting and modifying a smartfeature according to the invention;

FIG. 15 shows schematically a screen display of an alert windowaccording to the invention;

FIG. 16 is a schematic process flow for comparing smart feature contentwith information from the interactive program guide and other content;and

FIG. 17 is a schematic process flow for transferring personalized pagesby using a portable medium.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The amount of media assets available to users in any given mediadelivery system can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire aform of media guidance, i.e., an interface, that allows users toefficiently navigate media selections and easily identify media thatthey may desire. An application which provides such guidance is referredto herein as an interactive media guidance application or, sometimes, aninteractive program guide.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms dependingon the media for which they provide guidance. One typical type of mediaguidance application is an interactive program guide (IPG). Interactiveprogram guides are well-known guidance applications that, among otherthings, allow users to navigate among and locate television programmingviewing choices and, in some systems, digital music. The televisionprogramming (and music programming) may be provided via traditionalbroadcast, cable, or satellite. The programming may be provided on asubscription basis (sometimes referred to as premium programming), aspay-per-view (PPV) programs, or on-demand such as in video-on-demand(VOD) systems.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are able to access media on personal computers(PCs) and devices on which they traditionally could not.Non-television-centric platforms (i.e., platforms that distribute mediawith equipment not part of the user's broadcast, cable or satellitetelevision-delivery network) allow users to navigate among and locatedesirable video clips, full motion videos (which may include televisionprograms), images, music files, and other suitable media. Consequently,media guidance is also necessary on modern non-television-centricplatforms. For example, media guidance applications may be provided ason-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or as stand-aloneapplications or clients on hand-held computers, personal digitalassistants (PDAs) or cellular telephones. In some systems, users maycontrol equipment remotely via a media guidance application. Forexample, users may access an online media guide and set recordings orother settings on their in home equipment. This may be accomplished bythe on-line guide controlling the user equipment directly or via anothermedia guide that runs on the user equipment.

In one suitable embodiment of the present invention, a personalizedmosaic page with a plurality of suitably arranged cells can be launchedwhen the TV display and/or tuner device are turned on. The cells on themosaic page can be personalized with video assets from broadcastchannels, video on demand (VOD), pay-per-view (PPV), advertisingchannels, recorded assets (DVR), locally stored assets, web-sites, andthe like. The cells may be any suitable size and/or shape and may belocated at any suitable location on the display screen. The location,shape and size of the cells may be defined by templates which can beselected by the user and stored locally on the user equipment. Cells mayinclude text, still images, video images, symbols, logos, or acombination of these elements.

In one suitable approach, a message bar or news ticker may be displayedon the mosaic page, for example, at the bottom of the screen, to providepersonalized news, sports scores, updates and reminders of broadcasts,movies, shows, etc. The interactive program guide may display its ownbrand mark on each display screen.

In one suitable approach, one or more cells on a mosaic page may referto another mosaic page. For example, a cell on a mosaic page, which maybe a mosaic home page of a user, referring to sports may be linked to apage with cells that include only those sports, such as football orgolf, which the user is interested in. Another cell may refer to alisting of programs from an interactive media guidance application.

The user may navigate on the mosaic page of the interactive applicationby, for example, using the keys on a remote control device in a mannerknown in the art. The cell to which the user navigates may become thecell “in focus.” The interactive application may denote a cell as beingin focus by, for example, highlighting that cell, by increasing the sizeof that cell, and by enabling the audio signal associated with thatcell. Bandwidth limitations may only allow still images or logos to bedisplayed in most or all cells instead of live video images. However,any still image/logo displayed in a cell may be replaced with live videoand audio when that cell is highlighted.

In one suitable embodiment, a web-site (e.g., in the form of a UniversalResource Locator (URL)) can be associated with a particular cell. Ifthat cell is highlighted, the interactive television application mayactivate a web-browser and display a television channel associated withthat cell.

The user may select the cell in focus by pressing navigational keys,such as the SELECT key or OK key on the remote control. Pressing theSELECT key or the OK key while a cell is in focus may perform an actionrelated to that cell. For example, selecting a cell with a televisionchannel associated with it may cause the interactive program guide todisplay the video of the currently broadcasting television program ofthe associated television channel in full screen. Selecting a cell thathas a web-site associated with it may launch a web-browser that willautomatically display the content of that web-site. In a similar manner,VOD channels and DVR programs may be accessed and activated.

A mosaic page and/or a cell on a mosaic page may include an intelligentor “smart” feature which may be programmed to select from the availableassets those assets that reflect a user's preference, based on forexample, an expressed or habitual interest of the user. The smartfeature can then arrange the selected assets and prompt the system todisplay on the mosaic page the most relevant asset for the user. Themost relevant asset can be displayed when it becomes available, or usercan be informed, for example, by a message in or near a cell or on amessage bar of the date/time when the relevant asset will be available.The user can then, for example, instruct the system to record the asset.The smart feature enriches the user's experience with the interactivemedia guidance application.

An illustrative interactive media guidance system 100 in accordance withthe present invention is shown in FIG. 1. System 100 is intended toillustrate a number of approaches by which media of various types, andguidance for such media, may be provided to (and accessed by) end-users.The present invention, however, may be applied in systems employing anyone or a subset of these approaches, or in systems employing otherapproaches for delivering media and providing media guidance.

The first approach represents a typical television-centric system inwhich users may access television (and in some systems music)programming. This includes programming sources 102 and distributionfacility 104. Media such as television programming and digital music isprovided from programming sources 102 to distribution facility 104,using communications path 106. Communications path 106 may be asatellite path, a fiber-optic path, a cable path, or any other suitablewired or wireless communications path or combination of such paths.

Programming sources 102 may be any suitable sources of television andmusic programming, such as television broadcasters (e.g., NBC, ABC, andHBO) or other television or music production studios. Programmingsources 102 may provide television programming in a variety of formatsin high definition and standard definition, such as, for example, 1080p,1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i, and any other suitable format.

Distribution facility 104 may be a cable system headend, a satellitetelevision distribution facility, a television broadcaster, or any othersuitable facility for distributing video media (e.g., televisionprograms, video-on-demand programs, pay-per-view programs) and audiomedia (e.g., music programming and music clips) to the equipment ofsubscribers of the corresponding cable, satellite, or IPTV system. Insome approaches, distribution facility 104 may also distribute othermedia to users, such as video and audio clips, web pages, andinteractive applications, that may be offered to subscribers of a givencable, satellite, or IPTV system. There are typically numerousdistribution facilities 104 in system 100, but only one is shown in FIG.1 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Distribution facility 104 may be connected to various user equipmentdevices 108, 110, and 112. Such user equipment devices may be located,for example, in the homes of users. User equipment devices may includeuser equipment 110, user computer equipment 112, or any other type ofuser equipment suitable for accessing media. User equipment 108 may beany type of user equipment (e.g., user equipment, user computerequipment, cellular phones, handheld video players, gaming platforms,etc.) and, for simplicity, user equipment devices may be referred togenerally as user equipment 108.

User equipment devices 108, 110, and 112 may receive media (such astelevision, music, web pages, etc.) and other data from distributionfacility 104 over communications paths, such as communications paths114, 116, and 118, respectively. User equipment devices 108, 110, 112may also transmit signals to distribution facility 104 over paths 114,116, and 118, respectively. Paths 114, 116, and 118 may be cables orother wired connections, free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast orother wireless signals), satellite links, or any other suitable link orcombination of links.

A second approach illustrated in FIG. 1 by which media and mediaguidance are provided to end users is a non-television-centric approach.In this approach media such as video (which may include televisionprogramming), audio, images, web pages, or a suitable combinationthereof, are provided to equipment of a plurality of users (e.g., userequipment 108, user equipment 110, and user computer equipment 112) byserver 130 via communications network 126. This approach isnon-television-centric because media (e.g., television programming) isprovided by and delivered at least partially, and sometimes exclusively,via equipment that have not traditionally been primarily focused on thetelevision viewing experience. Non-television-centric equipment isplaying a larger role in the television viewing experience.

In some embodiments for this approach, communications network 126 is theInternet. Server 130 may provide for example, a web site that isaccessible to the user equipment and provides an on-line guidanceapplication for the user. In such approaches, the user equipment may be,for example, a PC or a hand-held device such as a PDA or web-enabledcellular telephone that incorporates a web browser. In otherembodiments, server 130 uses the Internet as a transmission medium butdoes not use the Web. In such approaches, the user equipment may run aclient application that enables the user to access media. In still otherapproaches, communications network 126 is a private communicationsnetwork, such as a cellular phone network, that does not include theInternet.

In yet other approaches, communications network 126 includes a privatecommunications network and the Internet. For example, a cellulartelephone or other mobile-device service provider may provide Internetaccess to its subscribers via a private communications network, or mayprovide media such as video clips or television programs to itssubscribers via the Internet and its own network.

The aforementioned approaches for providing media may, in someembodiments, be combined. For example, a distribution facility 104 mayprovide a television-centric media delivery system, while also providinguser equipment (e.g., 108, 110 and 112) with access to othernon-television-centric delivery systems provided by server 130. Forexample, a user equipment may include a web-enabled set-top box or atelevision enabled PC. Distribution facility 104 may, in addition totelevision and music programming, provide the user with Internet accesswhereby the user may access server 130 via communications network 126.Distribution facility 104 may communicate with communications network126 over any suitable path 134, such as a wired path, a cable path,fiber-optic path, satellite path, or combination of such paths.

Media guidance applications may be provided using any approach suitablefor the type of media and distribution system for which the applicationsare used. Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand aloneapplications implemented on user equipment. In other embodiments, mediaguidance applications may be client-server applications where only theclient resides on the user equipment. In still other embodiments,guidance applications may be provided as web sites accessed by a browserimplemented on the user equipment. Whatever the chosen implementation,the guidance application will require information about the media forwhich it is providing guidance. For example, titles or names of media,brief descriptions, or other information may be necessary to allow usersto navigate among and find desired media selections.

In some embodiments, for example, the guidance application may be astand-alone interactive program guide that receives program guide datavia a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed, trickle feed, or data in thevertical blanking interval of a channel). Data source 120 in system 100may include a program listings database that is used to provide the userwith television program-related information such as scheduled broadcasttimes, titles, channels, ratings information (e.g., parental ratings andcritic's ratings), detailed title descriptions, genre or categoryinformation (e.g., sports, news, movies, etc.), program format (e.g.,standard definition, high definition) and information on actors andactresses. Data source 120 may also be used to provide advertisements(e.g., program guide advertisements and advertisements for otherinteractive television applications), real-time data such as sportsscores, stock quotes, news data, and weather data, application data forone or more media guidance applications or other interactiveapplications, and any other suitable data for use by system 100. Asanother example, data source 120 may provide data indicating the typesof information that may be included in interactive media guidanceoverlays (e.g., at the request of the user, absent user modification,etc.).

Program guide data may be provided to user equipment, including userequipment located on home network 113, using any suitable approach. Forexample, program schedule data and other data may be provided to theuser equipment on a television channel sideband, in the verticalblanking interval of a television channel, using an in-band digitalsignal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitabledata transmission technique. Program schedule data and other data may beprovided to user equipment on multiple analog or digital televisionchannels. Program schedule data and other data may be provided to theuser equipment with any suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily,in response to a request from user equipment, etc.).

In some television-centric embodiments, guidance data from data source120 may be provided

o user equipment using a client-server approach. For example, a guidanceapplication client residing on the user equipment may initiate sessionswith server 140 to obtain guidance data when needed. In someembodiments, the guidance application may initiate sessions with server140 via a home network server (e.g., a server located in home network113 that supports the user equipment devices located in home network113).

There may be multiple data sources (such as data source 120) in system100, although only one data source is shown in FIG. 1 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. For example, a separate data source may beassociated with each of a plurality of television broadcasters and mayprovide data that is specific to those broadcasters (e.g.,advertisements for future programming of the broadcasters, logo data fordisplaying broadcasters' logos in program guide display screens, etc.).Data source 120 and any other system components of FIG. 1 may beprovided using equipment at one or more locations. Systems componentsare drawn as single boxes in FIG. 1 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawings.

Data source 120 may provide data to distribution facility 104 overcommunications path 122 for distribution to the associated userequipment and home network 113 (discussed below) over paths 114, 116,118, and 119 (e.g., when data source 120 is located at a main facility).Communications path 122 may be any suitable communications path such asa satellite communications path or other wireless path, a fiber-optic orother wired communications path, a path that supports Internetcommunications, or other suitable path or combination of such paths.

In some television-centric and non-television centric approaches, datasource 120 may provide guidance data directly to user equipment 108 overpath 124, communications network 126, and path 128 (e.g., when datasource 120 is located at a facility such as one of programming sources102). In some embodiments of the present invention, data source 120 mayprovide guidance data directly to user equipment located on home network113 (discussed below) over path 124, communications network 126, andpath 139 (e.g., when data source 120 is located at a facility such asone of programming sources 102). Paths 124, 128, and 139 may be wiredpaths such as telephone lines, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, satellitepaths, wireless paths, any other suitable paths or a combination of suchpaths. Communications network 126 may be any suitable communicationsnetwork, such as the Internet, the public switched telephone network, ora packet-based network.

User equipment devices, including user equipment devices located on homenetwork 113 (discussed below), such as user equipment and personalcomputers, may use the program schedule data and other interactive mediaguidance application data to display program listings and otherinformation (e.g., information on digital music) for the user. Aninteractive program guide application or other suitable interactivemedia guidance application may be used to display the information on theuser's display (e.g., in one or more overlays that are displayed on topof video for a given television channel). Interactive displays may begenerated and displayed for the user using any suitable approach. In onesuitable approach, distribution facility 104, server 130, or anotherfacility, may generate application display screens and may transmit thedisplay screens to user equipment for display. In another suitableapproach, user equipment may store data for use in one or moreinteractive displays (e.g., program schedule data, advertisements,logos, etc.), and an interactive media guidance application implementedat least partially on the user equipment may generate the interactivedisplays based on instructions received from distribution facility 104,server 130 or another facility. In some embodiments of the presentinvention, user equipment may store only the data that is used togenerate the interactive television displays (e.g., storing logo datafor a particular television broadcaster only if the logo is to beincluded in one or more interactive television displays). In someembodiments of the present invention, user equipment may store data thatis not necessarily used to generate the interactive television displays(e.g., storing advertisements associated with a particular televisionbroadcaster that may or may not be displayed depending on, for example,the outcome of negotiations with the television broadcaster). Any othersuitable approach or combination of approaches may be used to generateand display interactive overlays for the user.

In still other embodiments, interactive media guidance applications(television-centric and non-television centric) may be provided onlineas, for example, websites. For example, server 130 may provide an onlineinteractive program guide. As another example, user equipment 108 may bea mobile device, such as a cellular telephone or personal digitalassistant (PDA). The mobile device may be web-enabled to allow the userto access an on-line guidance application (which may be modified fromits original version to make it appropriate for a cellular phone).Alternatively, the mobile device may have an applet that communicateswith server 130 to obtain guidance data via the Internet.

Server 130 may receive program schedule data and other data from datasource 120 via communications path 124, communications network 126, andcommunications path 132 or via another suitable path or combination ofpaths. Path 132 may be a satellite path, fiber-optic path, wired path,or any other path or combination of paths. User equipment 108 may accessthe on-line interactive media guidance application and other sourcesfrom server 130 via communications path 128. User equipment 108 may alsoaccess the application and other services on server 130 viacommunications path 114, distribution facility 104, and communicationspath 134. For example, a cable modem or other suitable equipment may beused by user equipment 108 to communicate with distribution facility104.

User equipment such as user equipment 110, user computer equipment 112,and user equipment located on home network 113 may access the on-lineinteractive media guidance application and server 130 using similararrangements. User equipment 110 may access the on-line interactivemedia guidance application and server 130 using communications path 136or using path 116, distribution facility 104, and path 134. Usercomputer equipment 112 may access the on-line interactive media guidanceapplication and server 130 using communications path 138 or using path118, distribution facility 104, and path 134. User equipment located onhome network 113 may access the on-line media guidance application andserver 130 using communications path 139 or using path 119, distributionfacility 104, and path 134. Paths 136, 138, and 139 may be any suitablepaths such as wired paths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, wirelesspaths, satellite paths, or a combination of such paths.

In some embodiments, system 100 may support other interactiveapplications in addition to the interactive media guidance applications.Such applications may be implemented using any suitable approach. Forexample, the interactive applications may be implemented locally on theuser equipment or in a distributed fashion (e.g., using a client-serverarchitecture in which the user equipment serves at least partly, and forat least some of the time, as the client and a server, such as server140 at distribution facility 104, server 130, or other suitableequipment acts as the server). Other distributed architectures may alsobe used if desired. Moreover, some or all of the features of theinteractive applications of system 100 (including the media guidanceapplication) may be provided using operating system software ormiddleware software. Such operating system software and middleware maybe used instead of or in combination with application-level software. Inyet other approaches, interactive applications may also be supported byservers or other suitable equipment at one or more service providerssuch as service provider 142. Regardless of the particular arrangementused, the software that supports these features may be referred to as anapplication or applications.

For example, an interactive application such as a home shopping servicemay be supported by a service provider such as service provider 142 thathas sales representatives, order fulfillment facilities, accountmaintenance facilities, and other equipment for supporting interactivehome shopping features. A home shopping application that is implementedusing the user equipment may be used to access the service provider toprovide such features to the user. The user equipment may access serviceprovider 142 via distribution facility 104 and communications path 144or via communications network 126 and communications path 146.Communications paths such as paths 144 and 146 may be any suitable pathssuch as wired paths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, satellite paths, ora combination of such paths.

Another example of an interactive application is a home bankingapplication. A home banking service may be supported using personnel atfacilities such as service provider 142. An interactive home bankingapplication that is implemented using the user equipment may access thehome banking service via distribution facility 104 and communicationspath 144 or via communications network 126 and communications path 146.

If desired, an interactive media guidance application such as anetwork-based video recorder or a video-on-demand application may besupported using server 140, server 130, a home network server, orequipment at service provider 142. Video-on-demand content and videorecorded using a network-based video recorder arrangement may be storedon server 140 or server 130 or a home network server or at serviceprovider 142 and may be provided to the user equipment when requested byusers. An interactive program guide, for example, may be used to supportthe functions of a digital video recorder (sometimes called a digitalvideo recorder) that is implemented using user equipment 108.Illustrative equipment that may be used to support digital videorecorder functions include specialized digital video recorder devices,integrated receiver decoders (IRDs), set-top boxes with integrated orexternal hard drives, or personal computers with video recordingcapabilities.

Interactive applications such as media guidance applications (e.g.,interactive program guide applications and video-on-demandapplications), home shopping applications, home banking applications,game applications, and other applications (e.g., applications related toe-mail and chat or other communications functions, etc.) may be providedas separate applications that are accessed through a navigation shellapplication (i.e., a menu application with menu options corresponding tothe applications). The features of such applications may be combined.For example, games, video-on-demand services, home shopping services,network-based video recorder functions, digital video recorderfunctions, navigational functions, program guide functions,communications functions, and other suitable functions may be providedusing one application or any other suitable number of applications. Theone or more applications may display various overlays on user equipmentincluding, for example, interactive television information on top ofvideo for a given television channel.

Interactive program guide applications, home banking applications, homeshopping applications, network-based video recorder and digital videorecorder applications, video-on-demand applications, gamingapplications, communications applications, and navigational applicationsare only a few illustrative examples of the types of interactive mediaguidance and other applications that may be supported by system 100.Other suitable interactive applications that may be supported includenews services, web browsing and other Internet services, and interactivewagering services (e.g., for wagering on horse races, sporting events,and the like). Interactive television overlays that are displayed bythese applications may also be customized in accordance with the presentinvention.

Users may have multiple types of user equipment by which they accessmedia and obtain media guidance. For example, some users may have homenetworks that are accessed by in-home and mobile devices. As shown inFIG. 1, home network 113 communicates with distribution facility 104 andserver 130 over paths 119 and 139 (and, in the case of server 130,communications network 126). Such home networks 113 may be located, forexample, in homes of users or distributed, for example, among homes ofusers. Home networks 113 may each include a plurality of interconnecteduser equipment devices, such as, for example user equipment devices 108,110 and 112. In some embodiments, users may control in-home devices viaa media guidance application implemented on a remote device. Forexample, users may access an online media guidance application on awebsite via a personal computer at their office, or a mobile device suchas a PDA or web-enabled cellular telephone. The user may set settings(e.g., recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the on-line guidanceapplication to control the user's in-home equipment. The on-line guidemay control the user equipment directly, or by communicating with amedia guidance application on the user's in-home equipment.

FIGS. 2-6 show illustrative arrangements for user equipment. Anillustrative set-top box-based arrangement for user equipment 110 isshown in FIG. 2. User equipment 110 may be stand-alone or a part of homenetwork 113 (FIG. 1). Input/output 202 may be connected tocommunications paths such as paths 116 and 136 (FIG. 1). Input/outputfunctions may be provided by one or more wires or communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 2 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. Television programming, program guide data, and any othersuitable interactive media guidance application data or other data maybe received using input/output 202. Commands and requests and other datagenerated as a result of user interactions with the interactive mediaguidance application may also be transmitted over input/output 202.

Set-top box 204 may be any suitable analog or digital set-top box (e.g.,a cable set-top box). Set-top box 204 may contain an analog tuner fortuning to a desired analog television channel (e.g., a channelcomprising television programming, interactive television data, orboth). Set-top box 204 may also contain digital decoding circuitry forreceiving digital television channels (e.g., channels comprisingtelevision or music programming, interactive television data, etc.).Set-top box 204 may also contain a high-definition television tuner forreceiving and processing high-definition television channels. Analog,digital, and high-definition channels may be handled together ifdesired. Multiple tuners may be provided (e.g., to handle simultaneouswatch and record functions or picture-in-picture (PIP) functions). Box204 may be an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) that handles satellitetelevision. If desired, box 204 may have circuitry for handling cable,over-the-air broadcast, and satellite content.

Set-top box 204 may be configured to output media, such as televisionprograms, in a preferred format. Because television programs may bereceived in a variety of formats, set-top box 204 may contain scalercircuitry for upconverting and downconverting television programs intothe preferred output format used by set-top box 204. For example,set-top box 204 may be configured to output television programs in 720p.In this example, the scaler circuitry may upconvert standard-definitiontelevision programs having 480 lines of vertical resolution to 720pformat and downconvert certain high-definition television programshaving 1080 lines of vertical resolution to 720p format.

Box 204 may include a storage device (e.g., a digital storage devicesuch as a hard disk drive) for providing recording capabilities. Box 204may also be connected to a recording device 206 such as a video cassetterecorder, digital video recorder, optical disc recorder, or other deviceor devices with storage capabilities. In some embodiments, box 204 maybe configured to record either standard-definition television programsor high-definition television programs. In some embodiments, box 204 maybe configured to record both standard-definition television programs andhigh-definition television programs.

Set-top box 204 contains a processor (e.g., a microcontroller ormicroprocessor or the like) that is used to execute softwareapplications. Set-top box 204 may contain memory such as random-accessmemory for use when executing applications. Nonvolatile memory may alsobe used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Harddisk storage in box 204 or in recording device 206 may be used to backup data and to otherwise support larger databases and storagerequirements than may be supported using random-access memoryapproaches. Hard disk storage in box 204 or in recording device 206 mayalso be used to store and back up program guide settings or saved user'spreferences.

Set-top box 204 may have infrared (IR) or other communications circuitryfor communicating with a remote control or wireless keyboard. Set-topbox 204 may also have dedicated buttons and a front-panel display. Thefront-panel display may, for example, be used to display the currentchannel to which the set-top box is tuned.

Set-top box 204 may also have communications circuitry such as a cablemodem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, a digitalsubscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, or a wireless modem forcommunications with other equipment. Such communications may involve theInternet or any other suitable communications networks or paths. Ifdesired, the components of set-top box 204 may be integrated into otheruser equipment (e.g., a television or video recorder).

Recording device 206 may be used to record videos provided by set-topbox 204. For example, if set-top box 204 is tuned to a given televisionchannel, the video signal for that television channel may be passed torecording device 206 for recording on a videocassette, compact disc,digital video disk, or internal hard drive or other storage device. Insome embodiments, recording device 206 may be configured to recordeither standard-definition television programs or high-definitiontelevision programs. In some embodiments, recording device 206 may beconfigured to record both standard-definition television programs andhigh-definition television programs. Recording device 206 may havecommunications circuitry such as a cable modem, an ISDN modem, a DSLmodem, or a telephone modem for communications with other equipment.Such communications may involve the Internet or any other suitablecommunications networks or paths. The components of recording device 206may be integrated into other user equipment (e.g., a television, stereoequipment, etc.).

Recording device 206 may be controlled using a remote control or othersuitable user interface. If desired, video recorder functions such asstart, stop, record and other functions for device 206 may be controlledby set-top box 204. For example, set-top box 204 may control recordingdevice 206 using infrared commands directed toward the remote controlinputs of recording device 206 or set-top box 204 may control recordingdevice 206 using other wired or wireless communications paths betweenbox 204 and device 206.

The output of recording device 206 may be provided to television 208 fordisplay to the user. In some embodiments, television 208 may be capableof displaying high-definition programming (i.e., HDTV-capable). Ifdesired, multiple recording devices 206 or no recording device 206 maybe used. If recording device 206 is not present or is not being activelyused, the video signals from set-top box 204 may be provided directly totelevision 208. Any suitable television or monitor may be used todisplay the video. For example, if the video is in a high-definitionformat, an HDTV-capable television or monitor is required to display thevideo. In the equipment of FIG. 2 and the other equipment of system 100(FIG. 1), the audio associated with various video items is typicallydistributed with those video items and is generally played back to theuser as the videos are played. In some embodiments, the audio may bedistributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes and outputs theaudio via external speakers (not shown).

Another illustrative arrangement for user equipment 110 (FIG. 1) isshown in FIG. 3. User equipment 110 may be stand-alone or a part of homenetwork 113 (FIG. 1). In the example of FIG. 3, user equipment 110includes a recording device 302 such as a digital video recorder (e.g.,a digital video recorder (DVR)) that uses a hard disk or other storagefor recording video. Recording device 302 may alternatively be a digitalvideo disc recorder, compact disc recorder, videocassette recorder, orother suitable recording device. Equipment 110 of FIG. 3 may alsoinclude a television 304. In some embodiments, television 304 may beHDTV-capable. Input/output 306 may be connected to communications pathssuch as paths 116 and 136 (FIG. 1). Television programming, programschedule data, and other data (e.g., advertisement data, data indicatingone or more television channels for which the display of an overlay isto be customized, etc.) may be received using input/output 306. Commandsand requests and other data from the user may be transmitted overinput/output 306.

Recording device 302 may contain at least one analog tuner for tuning toa desired analog television channel (e.g., to display video for a giventelevision channel to a user, to receive program guide data and otherdata) and multiple other tuners may also be provided. Recording device302 may also contain digital decoding circuitry for receiving digitaltelevision programming, music programming, program guide data, and otherdata on one or more digital channels. Recording device 302 may alsocontain circuitry for receiving high-definition television channels. Ifdesired, recording device 302 may contain circuitry for handling analog,digital, and high-definition channels. Recording device 302 alsocontains a processor (e.g., a microcontroller or microprocessor or thelike) that is used to execute software applications. Recording device302 may contain memory such as random-access memory for use whenexecuting applications. Nonvolatile memory may also be used to store aboot-up routine or other instructions. The hard disk and other storagein recording device 302 may be used to support databases (e.g., programguide databases or other interactive television application databases).The hard disk or other storage in recording device 302 may also be usedto record video such as television programs or video-on-demand contentor other content provided to recording device 302 over input/output 306.

Recording device 302 may have IR communications circuitry or othersuitable communications circuitry for communicating with a remotecontrol. Recording device 302 may also have dedicated buttons and afront-panel display. The front-panel display may, for example, be usedto display the current channel to which the recording device is tuned.

Recording device 302 may also have communications circuitry such as acable modem, an ISDN modem, a DSL modem, a telephone modem, or awireless modem for communications with other equipment. Suchcommunications may involve the Internet or other suitable communicationsnetworks or paths.

If desired, recording device 302 may include a satellite receiver orother equipment that has wireless communications circuitry for receivingsatellite signals.

Recording device 302 of FIG. 3 or recording device 206 of FIG. 2 mayrecord new video while previously recorded video is being played back ontelevision 304 or 208. This allows users to press a pause button duringnormal television viewing. When the pause button is pressed, the currenttelevision program is stored on the hard disk of digital video recorder302. When the user presses play, the recorded video may be played back.This arrangement allows the user to seamlessly pause and resumetelevision viewing. Recording devices 302 and 206 may also be used toallow a user to watch a previously-recorded program while simultaneouslyrecording a new program.

The set-top box arrangement of FIG. 2 and the digital video recorderwith a built-in set-top box arrangement of FIG. 3 are merelyillustrative. Other arrangements may be used if desired. For example,user equipment may be based on a WebTV box, a personal computertelevision (PC/TV), or any other suitable equipment arrangement. Ifdesired, the functions of components such as set-top box 204, recordingdevice 302, a WebTV box, or PC/TV or the like may be integrated into atelevision or personal computer or other suitable device.

An illustrative remote control 400 for operating user equipment 110(FIG. 1) or suitable user computer equipment 112 is shown in FIG. 4.Remote control 400 is only illustrative and any other suitable userinput interface may be used to operate user equipment (e.g., a mouse,trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, voice recognition system,etc.). Remote control 400 may have function keys 402 and other keys 404such as keypad keys, power on/off keys, pause, stop, fast-forward andreverse keys. Volume up and down keys 406 may be used for adjusting thevolume of the audio portion of a video. Channel up and down keys 408 maybe used to change television channels and to access content on virtualchannels. Cursor keys 410 may be used to navigate on-screen menus. Forexample, cursor keys 410 may be used to position an on-screen cursor,indicator, or highlight (sometimes all generically referred to herein asa highlight or highlight region) to indicate interest in a particularoption or other item on a display screen that is displayed by theinteractive television application.

OK button 412 (sometimes called a select or enter key) may be used toselect on-screen options that the user has highlighted.

Buttons 402 may include RECORD button 414 for initiating recordings.MENU button 416 may be used to direct an interactive media guidanceapplication to display a menu on the user's display screen (e.g., ontelevision 208 or 304 or on a suitable monitor or computer display).INFO button 418 may be used to direct an interactive media guidanceapplication to display an information display screen. For example, whena user presses INFO button 418 while video for a given televisionchannel is displayed for the user, an interactive program guide maydisplay a FLIP/BROWSE overlay including program schedule information forthe current program on the given television channel on top of the video.As another example, when a particular program listing in an interactivetelevision program listings display screen is highlighted, the userpressing INFO button 418 may cause an interactive program guide toprovide additional program information associated with that programlisting (e.g., a program description, actor information, scheduleinformation, etc.).

LOCK button 420 may be used to modify access privileges. For example, aparent may use LOCK button 420 or on-screen options to establishparental control settings for the interactive media guidanceapplication. The parental control settings may be time-based settings(e.g., to prevent a child from watching television during a particulartime block, such as from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM). The parental controlsettings may also be used to, for example, block programming based onrating, channel, and program title. A locked or blocked program (orother media) is typically not viewable until the interactive mediaguidance application is provided with a suitable personal identificationnumber (PIN). Once this PIN has been entered, the interactive mediaguidance application will unlock the user equipment and allow the lockedcontent to be accessed.

EXIT button 422 may be used to exit the interactive media guidanceapplication or to exit a portion of the interactive media guidanceapplication (e.g., to cause an interactive program guide to remove aFLIP, BROWSE, or other interactive television overlay from the displayscreen). GUIDE button 424 may be used to invoke an interactive programguide (e.g., a program guide menu screen, program listings screen, orother program guide screen).

The keys shown in FIG. 4 are merely illustrative. Other keys or buttonsmay be provided if desired. For example, a music button may be used toaccess music with the interactive media guidance application. An editbutton may be used to edit stored content (e.g., to remove commercials,remove portions of a video, etc.). Alphanumeric buttons may be used toenter alphanumeric characters. A last or back button may be used tobrowse backward in the interactive media guidance application (e.g., toreturn to a previous channel, web page, or other display screen). Videorecorder function buttons such as a play button, pause button, stopbutton, rewind button, fast-forward button, and record button, may beused to control video recorder functions (local or network-based) insystem 100 (FIG. 1). A help key may be used to invoke help functionssuch as context-sensitive on-screen help functions.

Illustrative user computer equipment 112 (FIG. 1) is shown in FIG. 5.User computer equipment 112 may be stand-alone or a part of home network113 (FIG. 1). In the arrangement of FIG. 5, personal computer unit 502may be controlled by the user using keyboard 504 and/or other suitableuser input device such as a trackball, mouse, touch pad, touch screen,voice recognition system, or a remote control, such as remote control400 of FIG. 4. Video content, such as television programming or webpages having video elements, and interactive media guidance applicationdisplay screens may be displayed on monitor 506. Television and musicprogramming, media guidance application data (e.g., television programguide data), video-on-demand content, video recordings played back froma network-based video recorder, and other data may be received frompaths 118 and 138 (FIG. 1) using input/output 508. User commands andother information generated as a result of user interactions with theinteractive media guidance application and system 100 (FIG. 1) may alsobe transmitted over input/output 508.

Personal computer unit 502 may contain a television or video card, suchas a television tuner card, for decoding analog, digital, andhigh-definition television channels and for handling streaming videocontent. Multiple video cards (e.g., tuner cards) may be provided ifdesired. An illustrative television tuner card that may be used maycontain an analog television tuner for tuning to a given analog channel,digital decoding circuitry for filtering out a desired digitaltelevision or music channel from a packetized digital data stream, and ahigh-definition television tuner for tuning to a high-definitionchannel. Any suitable card or components in computer unit 502 may beused to handle video and other content delivered via input/output line508 if desired.

Personal computer unit 502 may contain one or more processors (e.g.,microprocessors) that are used to run the interactive media guidanceapplication or a portion of the interactive media guidance application.

Personal computer unit 502 may include a hard drive, a recordable DVDdrive, a recordable CD drive, or other suitable storage device ordevices that stores video, program guide data, and other content. Theinteractive media guidance application and personal computer unit 502may use a storage device or devices to, for example, provide thefunctions of a digital video recorder.

User equipment, such as user equipment 108, user equipment 110, usercomputer equipment 112, and user equipment located on home network 113(FIG. 1), may be used with network equipment such as server 130, server140, a home network server, and equipment at service providers such asservice provider 142 of FIG. 1 to provide network-based video recordingfunctions. Video recording functions may be provided by storing copiesof television programs and other video content on a remote server (e.g.,server 130 or server 140 or a home network server) or othernetwork-based equipment, such as equipment at a service provider such asservice provider 142.

Video recordings may be made in response to user commands that areentered at user equipment 108 or user equipment located on home network113 (FIG. 1). In a digital video recorder arrangement, the interactivemedia guidance application may be used to record video locally on theuser equipment in response to the user commands. In a network-basedvideo recorder arrangement, the interactive media guidance applicationmay be used to record video or to make virtual recordings (describedbelow) on network equipment such as server 130, server 140, a homenetwork server, or equipment at service provider 142 in response to theuser commands. The user commands may be provided to the networkequipment over the communications paths shown in FIG. 1. The digitalvideo recorder arrangement and the network-based video recorderarrangement can support functions such as fast-forward, rewind, pause,play, and record.

To avoid unnecessary duplication in a network-based video recorderenvironment, system 100 may provide network-based video recordingcapabilities by using virtual copies or recordings. With this approach,each user may be provided with a personal area on the network thatcontains a list of that user's recordings. The video content need onlybe stored once (or a relatively small number of times) on the networkequipment, even though a large number of users may have that videocontent listed as one of their recordings in their network-based videorecorder personal area. Personal settings or any other suitable data maybe stored in a user's personal area on the network.

The user equipment and user computer equipment arrangements describedabove are merely illustrative. A more generalized embodiment ofillustrative user equipment 108, 110, and 112 (FIG. 1) and userequipment located on home network 113 (FIG. 1) is shown in FIG. 6.Control circuitry 602 is connected to input/output 604. Input/output 604may be connected to one or more communications paths such as paths 114,116, 118, 128, 136, and 138 of FIG. 1. Media (e.g., televisionprogramming, music programming, other video and audio, and web pages)may be received via input/output 604 (e.g., from programming sources102, servers or other equipment, such as server 130, service providerssuch as service provider 142, distribution facility 104, etc.).Interactive media guidance application data, such as program scheduleinformation for an interactive program guide, may be received from datasource 120 via input/output 604. Input/output 604 may also be used toreceive data from data source 120 for other interactive televisionapplications. The user may use control circuitry 602 to send and receivecommands, requests, and other suitable data using input/output 604.

Control circuitry 602 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry606 such as processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices,etc. In some embodiments, control circuitry 602 executes instructionsfor an interactive media guidance application or other interactiveapplication (e.g., web browser) from memory. Memory (e.g., random-accessmemory and read-only memory), hard drives, optical drives, or any othersuitable memory or storage devices may be provided as storage 608 thatis part of control circuitry 602. Tuning circuitry such as one or moreanalog tuners, one or more MPEG-2 decoders or other digital videocircuitry, high-definition tuners, or any other suitable tuning or videocircuits or combinations of such circuits may also be included as partof circuitry 602. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air,analog, or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also beprovided. The tuning and encoding circuitry may be used by the userequipment to receive and display, play, or record a particulartelevision or music channel or other desired audio and video content(e.g., video-on-demand content or requested network-based or local videorecorder playback). Television programming and other video and on-screenoptions and information may be displayed on display 610. Display 610 maybe a monitor, a television, or any other suitable equipment fordisplaying visual images. In some embodiments, display 610 may beHDTV-capable. Speakers 612 may be provided as part of a television ormay be stand-alone units. Digital music and the audio component ofvideos displayed on display 610 may be played through speakers 612. Insome embodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (notshown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers 612.

A user may control the control circuitry 602 using user input interface614. User input interface 614 may be any suitable user interface, suchas a mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touch pad, voicerecognition interface, or a remote control.

Programs and interactive media guidance application data, such asprogram schedule information for an interactive program guide, may bedisplayed on a mosaic page, which can be a mosaic home page or anotherpersonalized mosaic page for one or more users. The mosaic page may bedivided into cells displaying content linked to broadcast channels, VODchannels, music channels, PPV and VOD programs, and stored locally, forexample, on recording devices 206, 302.

In one suitable embodiment of the present invention, a mosaic page maybe displayed when user equipment 108, 110, 112 or any component in userequipment 108, 110, 112, such as set-top box 204 or recording device206, 302, are switched on. The first-displayed mosaic page can be amosaic home page.

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative flow chart diagram of an interactive mediaguidance application 700 for displaying mosaic pages for differentusers, which may allow a user to select additional mosaic pages withdifferent, user-selectable personalized programming content. Forexample, when user equipment 108, 110, 112 is switched on, as indicatedby box 702, a welcome screen 704 may be displayed, which lists, forexample, family members 1 through n with access to mosaic pages 708,710, 712 or to a shared mosaic page 706, where programs of commoninterest to at least some of family members 1 through n may be listed.

A mosaic (user-selected default or home) page for Family Member 1 may bedisplayed by selecting Family Member 1 with the OK button 412 on theremote control 400, as described before. The mosaic default home pagemay display any mix of programs and content sources, such as a livebroadcast channel, contents stored on DVR, a video-on-demand (VOD)channel, a pay-per-view (PPV) channel, a television service provider, aninteractive media guidance application, a web-site, a program guideservice provider, a service, a digital music programmer, and/or a radiostation. The number and type of selections may be personalized for aparticular user and may depend, for example, on the number of availabletuners in the set-top box 204 and/or on the desired program mix.Programs may also be selected and extracted from a composite digitalvideo stream, such as an MPEG-2 stream, transmitting a plurality ofchannels. Different mosaic pages 710, 712 may be displayed for the otherFamily Members 2 through n.

The mosaic pages 706, 708, 710, 712 may display particular channels,i.e., single channel options, or may display cells that are linked toother personalized pages. For example, when the user, such as FamilyMember 1, selects a cell 716 on his/her mosaic default or home pagedisplayed at step 708, a mosaic page 718 with particular live channels,such as news channels, or VOD and stored broadcast channels, or a mosaicpage 720 with different genres (movies, shopping, sports, etc.) may bedisplayed. The user may then be able to again select a cell 722 from themosaic page 718 to display an additional mosaic page 724. The presentinvention does not limit the number or the type of mosaic home pages orthe number of other mosaic pages that can be created for a particularuser or a group of users. It will be understood that the processdescribed above for user or Family Member 1 can be repeated in a similarfashion for other users or groups of user. Such “personalized” mosaicpages can therefore also be set up for the shared mosaic home page 706.

A user or group of users can select and/or modify the cells and therebythe selection of features associated with a displayed mosaic page, asindicated by box 714. For example, keys 404 of remote control device 400may include a DELETE key for deleting a particular selected cell, or acell may be copied or moved by selecting the cells origin anddestination and performing a function selected by one or more of thekeys or buttons on remote control 400. The particular function assignedto a key or button of the remote control for a particular page may bedisplayed on the page. Keys or buttons can be statically or dynamicallyassigned. The terms key and button will be used interchangeablyhereinafter.

As described in more detail below, the cells may include specialinteractive features providing additional functionality for displayingor interacting with content displayed in the cell. Such features mayalso be accessed with the remote control 400 (FIG. 4) or with anotheruser input interface 614 (FIG. 6) and may or may not be copied and/ordeleted when a cell is moved, copied or deleted.

It may be desirable to provide a user with the option to access themosaic home page or another mosaic page from another location. To thisend, the set-top box 204 or any other component of the user equipmentmay have a communication port to upload the mosaic page(s) orinformation necessary to create the mosaic page(s) a central location,such as distribution facility 104 (FIG. 1), to the other component via anetwork, such as home network 113 or communication network 106 (FIG. 1),and/or to a remote device 726, which may be a portable medium or theremote control 400 (FIG. 4). The remote device 726 may be connected tothe user equipment 108, 110, 112 by a wireless connection, such as aninfrared link, or by a wired connection. Other modes of communicationbetween the remote device and the user equipment 108, 110, 112 forstoring the mosaic pages, such as Bluetooth and USB, are also feasible.For example, the user may store a particular mosaic page on anyremovable storage medium, such as a memory stick, flash card, recordableCD or DVD. The other location may or may not have the same channelallocation, and may or may not be connected to the original location byhome network 113. Sometimes, if the user travels to another location,that location may have a different channel allocation, and theassociation between broadcast channels and the video assets may have tobe remapped, as described in more detail below.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a Family Member “DOUG” optionally selects hisname from the Family Members' page 704, as described above withreference to FIG. 7, and is directed to his personalized (default)mosaic home page 800, which displays DOUG'S favorite channels togetherwith a greeting 804. Page 800 as well as the personalized pagesdescribed below may display the logo 802 of the network or serviceprovider. Page 800, as well as the pages described in the other pagesbelow, may also be customized by a user-selectable skin or background.Other types of mosaic home pages may also be displayed, such as a homepage 900 (FIG. 9) with favorites genres. In general, mosaic home pages800, 900 may include various selectable television channels, radiostations, web-sites, VOD or stored (DVR) programs, or other suitablecontents.

As shown in illustrative page 800, the display screen may be dividedinto any number of selectable partitions or a “mosaic” of cells 806,808, 810, 812, 814, 816. Although six exemplary personalized cells areshown, the number of personalized cells can be varied depending on theuser equipment and the network configuration, bandwidth, and channelallocation. The cells may be of any suitable size or shape, and need notnecessarily have the same size or shape. The cells may be used todisplay any television asset that is currently being broadcast or isotherwise available, for example, on-demand, on a local harddrive, etc.,as still images, text, logos, advertisements, or any other suitablevideo asset.

As mentioned above, the user can navigate between the cells by pressingthe UP, DOWN, RIGHT, LEFT keys 410 and highlight a particular cell bypressing, for example, the OK button 412 on remote control 400. Anysuitable means, such as a mouse, trackball, etc. connected, for example,to user interface 614 can be used to highlight the cell 806. On mosaicpage 800, cell 806 is shown as being highlighted, as indicated by thedouble-line frame around the cell 806. A symbol 852 may be displayed inor near the highlighted cell to indicate that a live audio channel isnow being played for that cell. Also displayed in the cell 806 may be abutton 854 which can be activated, for example, by using arrow keys 410on remote control 400 to move a cursor (not shown) to the correspondingscreen position of button 854 within cell 806 and pressing the OK button412 on remote control 400. Activation of the button 854 may prompt, forexample, video recording device 206 (FIG. 2) to record the videobroadcast currently showing in cell 806. However, depending on availabletuners and tuner settings, programs in other cells that are nothighlighted may also be recorded concurrently with the highlightedprogram or instead of the highlighted program.

Depending on the network settings, such as channel allocations andavailable transmission bandwidth, and on the user equipment 108, 110,112, the cells 806, 808, 810, 812, 814, 816 may show still images,logos, text, or live video, or a mix thereof. Preferably, at least theselected or highlighted cell 806 shows live video and plays thecorresponding live audio track. When another cell is selected by theuser, for example, cell 810, that cell will be highlighted and livevideo with live audio will be displayed, together with an associatedaudio symbol 852. The previously highlighted cell 806 will then beun-highlighted, and its audio muted, i.e. the audio symbol 852 in cell806 will disappear. However, the audio symbol 852 may also be moved toor activated in other cells that are not highlighted, in which case thelive audio of that cell would be played. In another embodiment, achannel designation depicted on personalized page 800, such as ESPN, maybe representative of several ESPN channels broadcasting different sportsevents, in which case the user upon selecting ESPN in cell 810 may bepresented with another personalized page showing the various ESPNchannels. Alternatively, the user may be presented with his/her“favorite” (ESPN) channel or with the “favorite” program from thevarious ESPN channels, as determined by the “smart” feature which isprogrammed to select from the user's preferred assets the asset havingthe greatest relevance for the user. Various modifications of theinvention of implementing a smart feature and displaying the mostrelevant asset in a cell can be envisioned without departing from thescope of the invention.

According to another aspect of the invention, certain interactivefeatures and options can be displayed in the cells 806, 808, 810, 812,814, 816. As seen in FIG. 8, a “$” symbol 853 or the like may bedisplayed to indicate a promotion or merchandise offer associated withthe current program. Clicking on the “$” symbol 853 with, for example,the OK button 412 on remote control 400 (or a cursor on a computerscreen of user computer equipment 112) may allow the user to ordermerchandise online over, for example, a bidirectional cable or DSLconnection or by phone. Other interactive features may include a programpromotion, such as a movie trailer or a sneak preview, as illustrated bya [:30] symbol 856. Pressing the OK button 412 of remote control 400 onthe [:30] symbol 856 may present to the user a 30 second preview of avideo asset of potential interest to the user to entice the user towatch the full program.

Another interactive option may include bonus features, as indicated bythe ⊕ symbol 860. One such bonus feature may include additional moviecontent, such as alternative endings, commentaries, etc., hithertotypically associated with movies distributed on physical media, such asDVDs. Clicking on the ⊕ symbol 860, or on any other symbol displayed ina cell, may open another window associated with the cell to displayfurther options associated with the symbol. In one embodiment, clickingon the ⊕ symbol 860 may direct the user to a VOD selection where thesame movie currently shown is also available on demand, allowing theuser to watch the movie at another convenient time. In anotherembodiment, the user may be reminded that the movie had previously beenrecorded on recording device 206, 302 or on a server 130, 140 and istherefore available for viewing independent of the currently broadcastprogram.

As mentioned above, an “intelligent” or “smart” feature 862 can beassociated with a mosaic page or a cell on a mosaic page. The smartfeature 862 may be designed to monitor and/or track a user's historic orexpressed viewing preferences and select, based on these preferences, anasset to be presented, such as displayed, to the user on the mosaic pageaccording to an associated user relevance. The smart feature 862 may beuser-programmable to include user-selected or user-defined preferences,such as favorite shows, movies, events, e.g., sports events with certainteams and/or players, actors, topics, and the like. For example, a usermay be interested in a particular asset, such as a genre of movies or aparticular NCAA basketball team. Information about that favorite programor event may be part of the title of the asset or event, but may also beincluded in other information associated with the asset or event, suchas a brief synopsis of a movie supplied with the interactive mediaguidance application. In some embodiments, information about the user'shistoric or expressed preferences may be derived from the user'sinteractions with multiple pieces of user equipment 108. For example,users may access media and/or program guide data on various devices,such as their set-top box, mobile device (such as a cellular phone), andvia an on-line guide (e.g., tvguide.co). The program guides (or othersuitable clients) on those devices may exchange information about auser's preferences and the smart features on one or more of thosedevices may use such information to customize a mosaic display.

The smart feature will attempt to match the user's historic or expressedinterest with the information about the asset or event and eitherdisplay the asset in the corresponding cell automatically, when a matchis found, or inform the user of a time or date when the asset will beavailable. For this purpose, the user equipment 108, 110, 112 or server130, 140 may include a search functionality adapted to, for example,detect a relevance between the user preferences in the smart functionand program data, for example, data from data source 120. Although thesmart feature 862 is shown as associated with a particular cell orcells, smart features may also be placed on a mosaic page to encompassother or all cells on a mosaic page. Details of the smart feature 862,including the functionality for computing the relevance for a user andalerting a user, will be described in more detail below.

Mosaic page 800 in FIG. 8 may include a personalized message bar or newsticker 850 which may be personalized to show, for example, informationabout the most relevant assets, e.g., the most relevant news channelsand sports scores, determined by the smart features for the mosaic pageDOUG's Favorite Channels in FIG. 8. The personalized message bar or newsticker 850 may also display reminders to other relevant assets andevents, such as shows, movies, specials, etc.

A cell, such as exemplary cell 810, may also include a Snipe button 863.Snipes are graphical “lures” (which may be animated) designed to enticea viewer to watch a show, order a show, purchase a product, or performsome other type of e-commerce. In response to the user selecting snipe863, the interactive program guide provides the e-commerce opportunityto the user in a series of displays.

The mosaic page 800 may include other buttons that facilitate usernavigation. For example, buttons 842 a and 842 b may allow the user toscroll to other sections of the mosaic page, for example, if a lessernumber of cells are displayed on page 800 than are actually available.Buttons 842 a and 842 b may also be programmed to access the mosaicpages on the next higher or next lower level of the hierarchical pagestructure 700 of FIG. 7. Alternatively or in addition, one of the cells,for example cell 816, may be used to display listings of the interactiveprogram guide and enable scrolling though broadcast programs while theremaining cells on page 800 remain undisturbed. In one embodiment, abutton “More Channels” 840 may be activated in cell 816 to displayspecific, personalized broadcast channels or other channels of interest.

FIG. 9A illustrates another exemplary embodiment of a mosaic page 900that can be provided in addition to or in lieu of mosaic page 800.Illustrative mosaic page 900 is shown as being organized by genres, suchas news 906, movies 908, sports 910, premium channels 912, communitychannels 914, and other user-selected channels, such as comedy channels916. The genre mosaic page 900 may also include a personalized greeting904, a smart feature 962 and a record button (R) 954, which weredescribed previously. It will be understood that any other suitableattribute described above with reference to FIG. 8, for example apersonalized message bar or news ticker 950, may also be included.

On the exemplary page 900, cell 906 may, if not highlighted, for exampledisplay the genre “NEWS.” An audio track may or may not be audible whenthe genre page is displayed. If an audio track is audible, it can besupplied by any available source or from a barker channel. If the userhighlights exemplary cell 906, as indicated in FIG. 9B, it may displaythe favorite news channel “ABC” selected by the smart features accordingto, for example, a computed relevance score for the user. A live audiotrack 952 of the channel associated with that cell would then also beplayed. Alternatively, the most relevant asset for a cell could bedisplayed in that cell, regardless if the cell is highlighted or not.For example, a HBO asset or a listing of currently broadcast HBO assetscould be displayed in cell 912. The user can record the correspondingasset, for example, in highlighted cell 906 by, for example, directing acursor to the RECORD button 954 and pressing the OK button 412 on remotecontrol 400. A cell displaying only a particular genre, such as sportsin cell 910, may have a button 930 which may direct the user to anothermosaic page with specific broadcast channels, VOD programs, recordedprograms (DVR), available for viewing. The smart feature 962 describedbefore may be included in any cell and/or on any page of thehierarchically arranged mosaic pages to display assets with the greatestrelevance for the user. Buttons 942 a and 942 b may be provided toenable navigation to additional pages, channels or genres.

One exemplary embodiment of a mosaic page 1000 accessed by activatingthe button “More News” 926 on page 900 is illustrated in FIG. 10. Cell1006 is selected as the active cell, with several features, such as liveaudio 1052 and one-touch recording 1054 of the news program enabled. Asdescribed above, the live audio track of a non-highlighted cell may alsobe played by moving the audio symbol to another channel, in which casethe audio of the highlighted cell will be muted. Other featuresdescribed with reference to pages 700 and 800, but not particularlyshown, may be provided with any cell in any suitable combination.Buttons 1042 a and 1042 b may be provided to enable navigation toadditional news channels.

Although the highlighted cell 1006 is shown as having the same size asthe non-highlighted cells 1008, 1010, 1012, 1014, 1016, the size of thehighlighted cell 1006 may be changed or the appearance of highlightedcell 1006 may be otherwise altered to feature more prominently on page1000. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, cell 1006 of page 1000 (FIG. 10)may be resized as cell 1106, with the remaining news channel cells 1008,1010, 1012, 1014, 1016 of page 1000 displayed on page 1100 as buttons1108, 1110, 1112, 1114, 1116, respectively. In all other aspects, thefeatures on page 1100 can be similar to those of page 1000.

As described above with reference to FIG. 7, separate mosaic pages 708,710, 712 can be created and displayed for members of a family or a groupsharing the user equipment. For example, referring now to FIG. 12,family member “DIANE” may have a mosaic page “Favorite Genres” 1200 witha personal greeting 1204, which in the illustrated exemplary embodimentmirrors DOUG's mosaic page 900. The mosaic pages for different users mayhave different, identical or overlapping selections, layout andfeatures, with only an illustrative selection of each of the feasiblepersonalized pages being shown in the figures. The smart features 1262as well as the news bar 1250 may be individually programmed, i.e.,personalized for a particular user or user, as described above.

FIG. 13 shows an exemplary mosaic page 1300 which is directed to moviesand shared between DOUG and DIANE. The illustrative mosaic page 1300includes three broadcast movie channel cells 1306, 1308, 1312, one VODchannel cell 1314, and two cells for recorded movies 1310, 1316. Thecells 1306 through 1316 may include one or more of the previouslydescribed personalized features, such as audio selector 1352, RECORDbuttons 1354, buttons 1326, 1328, 1332, 1334 for additional options,such as commentary, trailers, availability as VOD, etc. Thefunctionality of buttons 1326, 1328, 1332, 1334 can be identical orsimilar to that of the ⊕ symbol 860 described above with reference topage 800. If more than the displayed illustrative two movies 1310, 1316were recorded, then a list may be displayed in lieu of a still image orlogo, or a list of movies may be accessible for display by selectingbutton “DVR List” 1330, 1336 by pressing, for example, the OK button 412on remote control 400. As mentioned above, any cell can beselected/resized by selecting that cell, and any of the featuresdescribed above can be accessed in the selected cell. Smart features1362 can be included and/or programmed on any mosaic page. For example,a sports event may be displayed in a cell personalized for DOUG, but thesame smart feature can be associated with another mosaic page, such aspage 800 and/or 900.

In approaches such as those described above, a particular cell on amosaic page may be associated, for example, with a television channel, atelevision service provider, a video-on-demand (VOD) channel, apay-per-view (PPV) channel, a recorded video (DVR) program, aninteractive media guidance application, a web-site, a program guideservice provider, a service, a digital music programmer, and/or a radiostation. A cable system operator may reconfigure the providers for theseassets by, for example, reassigning or reallocating channels and/or byconverting analog channels to one or more digital or HDTV channels. Thesmart features may be programmed to interrogate the interactive mediaguidance application and automatically link to user's preferred or mostrelevant assets to the reallocated channel, making the transitiontransparent for the user.

As described above, when a cell is highlighted or “in focus,” theinteractive media guidance application may allow the user to initiate aspecial function, access interactive content, or both, by pressing keyson remote control 400 to activate features within the cells. The usermay have the option to exit at any time, for example to the top levelmosaic page 704 (FIG. 7), by pressing the EXIT button 422. Any othersuitable option such as a BACK key or a RETURN key may be operable toreturn to the previous display screen.

The user may view personalized information associated with a cell by,for example, pressing the INFO button 418 on remote control 400.Pressing the INFO button 418 instead of activating, for example, one ofthe INFO buttons 1327 through 1337 on page 1300 may cause theinteractive media guidance application to display information about theentity associated with that cell. The information may be displayed inany suitable format. Links to information, menus, other interactivecontent, or special functions may also be provided. The informationdisplayed after the INFO button 418 is pressed may be displayed in fullscreen or in a portion of the display screen. In one suitable approach,the information may be displayed in a portion of a cell, or in an entirecell.

Any suitable approach to provide the user with information, aninformation screen, a menu screen, or any other suitable display may beused. Any suitable approach to provide the user with suitable options ora way to initiate additional functionality may be used. The precedingexamples of the functions associated with specific keys on a remotecontrol are also merely illustrative. The initiation of any function orthe display of any display screen or information may be associated withany button on a page and/or with any key on the remote control 400. Anyfunction or the display of any page or information may also be initiatedby issuing any other suitable command to the interactive media guidanceapplication, such as a computer command or a voice command when using asystem capable of voice recognition.

The interactive media guidance application, in particular theaforedescribed exemplary mosaic home pages and the other mosaic pages,may also display indicators in a cell, or in close proximity to a cell,to notify the user that the user may access interactive content orinitiate a special function associated with that cell. These indicatorsmay be displayed when a cell is highlighted or when a cell is nothighlighted. For example, an indicator displayed around or in closeproximity to a cell may blink or be a pre-determined shape or color tonotify the user that the user may access interactive content or initiatea special function associated with that cell. These examples are merelyillustrative. Any suitable indicator may be displayed to notify the userthat there may be interactive content or additional functionalityassociated with a cell.

The aforedescribed mosaic pages may include smart features 862, 962,1062, 1162, 1262. In general, such smart features may be associated witha cell whenever such smart features add functionality to the cells.Returning now to FIG. 8, an exemplary smart feature 862 associatablewith cell 810, here shown as the ESPN sports channel, may make referenceto an upcoming Duke University basketball game or a golf event featuringthe user's favorite player. The smart feature can track viewer habits,for example, the frequency and time when a viewer tunes to a certainchannel.

When a viewer wants to watch a movie featuring, for example, JackNicholson or Julia Roberts, or a football game with Duke University, thesmart feature will access and process information from the interactivemedia guidance application. This type of information can be availablefor viewing on a conventional interactive program guide (IPG), forexample, by pressing the INFO button 418 on remote control 400, withoutbeing associated with a searching functionality. The disclosed smartfeatures can search “deeper” in the interactive media guidanceapplication or in other content-related information for entries thatmatch user preferences and/or selections.

FIG. 14 shows an exemplary schematic process flow 1400 for selecting asmart feature in a mosaic cell that has a media source associated withit, for example smart feature 862 in cell 810 of mosaic page 800. Atstep 1402, illustrative mosaic page 800 is selected and a cell layoutwhich can be based on a template and personalized for a user isdisplayed, at step 1404. The mosaic pages and cells can be personalizedin a manner described above with reference to FIGS. 7 through 13. Mediasources, which can be TV broadcasts, VOD programs, radio programs, mediastreamed over a network, such as the Internet (IPTV), program guides,stored programs, as well as links to subordinate personalized pages canbe associated with the cells. Illustrative cell 810 includes smartfeature 862, which for the exemplary cell 810 is associated with theESPN broadcast channel. The cell may be associated with a userpreference based, for example, on user input or a historic viewingfrequency of a program or otherwise related content directed to sportsevents, step 1406. The user preference can then be compared with certainidentifiers or other information, such as titles, names of performers oractors, venues, etc., in the interactive media guidance application(supplied, for example, by data source 120-FIG. 1), at step 1408.Details of the comparison process will be described below with referenceto FIG. 16. If the user preference matches or at least approximatelymatches the identifier or the other information, as determined by acomputed high relevance score, at step 1410, the asset with the greatestrelevance is made available or displayed in a cell to the user, at step1414. If only a poor match is found, as determined by a low relevancescore at step 1410, then the user may be prompted to modify or deletethe stated preference, or add a preference, at step 1412. The preferencemay also be left unchanged (not shown in the process flow) to allowprocess 1400 to check for a match at a later time, for example after aday or a week, since the service provider may from time to time updatethe assets.

FIG. 15 schematically shows screen shots 1500 and 1550 of an exemplaryuser preference, which may be opened in a separate window. A schematicwindow 1500 associated, for example, with smart feature 862 in cell 810,displays two scheduled sports events from Duke University 1510, 1512,the scheduled date/time of the event, as well as the source or channelof the broadcast. As mentioned above, event 1510 (Monday Night Football)may have been associated with a particular cell or mosaic page based onthe viewer habit, e.g., that the viewer almost never misses a MondayNight football game. The viewer may select the entry 1510 to learn moreabout the teams and the venue of that game. The second entry 1512 mayhave resulted from a manual user entry, as illustrated for a movieselection in screen shot 1550. Two additional events 1514, 1516 arespecified only in the form of a general topic (Wimbledon) or byproviding the name of a featured player (Tiger Woods), without furtherassociation with a broadcast channel or date. As indicated by thedisplay “PPV”, the interactive media guidance application has found amatching entry in a pay-per-view channel, whereas the display “N/A”indicates that the interactive media guidance application did not findan entry under that name. The user may click on the displayed preferencein the window of the smart feature to add/delete/modify the content. Forexample, the user may want to delete the entry “Tiger Woods”, since thisprogram is not available, and may instead opt for another golftournament.

Window 1550 shows an exemplary search window that may be accessed fromthe smart feature, for example, by pressing a SEARCH button on theremote control 400. Alphanumeric input may be entered using a variety ofinput devices, such as simulated keyboards displayed on the displayscreen, or keys 404 on the remote control 400. Remote control 400 mayhave a QWERTY alphanumeric keyboard. Alternatively, the number keys 1through 9 and the “*” and “#” on the numerical keypad of the remotecontrol 400 may be used to enter letters; for example, the letters A, B,C may be entered by a repeatedly pressing the “2” key. It is also knownto employ predictive text entry which anticipates text entered by auser, for example by employing a learning function. The smart featurecan be exited, for example, by pressing the EXIT key on remote control400.

A process flow 1600 for displaying on a mosaic page an asset of highrelevance for a user, as determined by the smart features, is shown inFIG. 16. At step 1602, the smart feature compares the user preferencewith available assets and/or stored content. As mentioned above, theterm “user preference” in the context of the present invention refersto, for example, to an explicit or implicit indication that a user hasinterest in the asset. An explicit indication may include active userinput, such as a selection of the asset or a search string describing anasset, whereas an implicit indication may be based on the frequency withwhich a user views a particular asset or an asset related to aparticular asset. If it is determined, at step 1604, that the userpreference matches an asset or stored content, then the asset or contentis displayed in a cell on the mosaic page, at step 1606. Instead ofdisplaying the asset or content directly, a message about the current orfuture availability of the asset or content can be displayed, forexample in message bar 850 (FIG. 8). The user equipment 108 may beprogrammed to record the asset, provided that there is no conflict withanother scheduled recording.

Conversely, at step 1604, if it is determined that no exact match existsbetween the user preference and an asset or stored content, then it ischecked, at step 1608, if at least a partial (fuzzy) match exists. Thedegree or fuzziness of a match can be computed using a suitable scoringfunction, for example, a cost function or relevance score. A suitablethreshold value can be preset, whereby the match is considered reliable,if the score of the match exceeds the preset threshold value. At step1608, if it is determined that no match with a score greater than thepreset threshold value exists, then the user may be informed, at step1610, that the selection criterion does not match any asset or storedcontent. The user may have the option to delete the entry or to roll theentry to another date, such as the next day or next week, because theasset or content may change over time. Conversely, if the score of thematch at step 1608 exceeds the threshold value, possibly with more thanone entry providing a match, then a list with options may be displayedto the user, at step 1612. The user can select potentially matchingentries from that list, or the user can modify the preference, step1614. The process 1600 then goes to step 1606 to display the asset inthe respective cell, as discussed above.

As mentioned before, the mosaic homepage and other mosaic pages may bestored on the user equipment. However, a user may want to have theopportunity to view his/her personal pages on another device and/or atanother location, for example at a vacation home or when traveling,without the need to reprogram the pages or cells on the pages. FIG. 17shows schematically an exemplary process 1700 which allows a user topersonalize pages on one set of user equipment and to transport ortransfer the mosaic pages, including the smart features, to another setof user equipment at another location.

At step 1702, a user creates mosaic pages with cells having personalizedand smart features. As described above, the user-specified content ofthe selected cells can be associated with a particular channelallocation in the interactive media guidance application or with othercontent, such as VOD, PPV or stored DVR content, step 1704. The channelallocation for the mosaic pages, which is typically associated with thephysical location of the user equipment, such as the ZIP code, can bestored on the user equipment, step 1706. The user may want to transferthe mosaic pages, or information about the mosaic pages, to anotherdevice. In one embodiment, the mosaic page can be copied at the userequipment to a portable device, at step 1708. The portable device can bea recordable device, such as a memory stick, a flash card, and/or arecordable CD, or another wired or wireless device connected to or incommunication with the user equipment 108. Suitable wired connections,such as USB or FireWire ports, or wireless connections, such asBluetooth, can be employed.

At step 1710, the portable device can then be connected, either by awire or wireless, for communication with another piece of user equipmentwhich may be different from the first piece or be located at anotherphysical location. At step 1712, the mosaic pages or information aboutthe mosaic pages are communicated from the portable device to the otheruser equipment, which then checks the association between the cells onthe mosaic pages and the media sources on the other user equipment, step1714. This is necessary because the service provider or distributionfacility may associate the mosaic page with different media sources onthe other user equipment. At step 1716, if it is determined that themedia sources are unchanged, for example, when the user receives themedia content via a home network or another network, then the user canopen and use his/her personalized pages on the other user equipmentwithout making any changes, step 1718.

Conversely, if the media sources providing the assets for the mosaicpage have changed, then the interactive media guidance application atthe other location may attempt to reallocate the media sources, at step1720, based, for example, on metadata of the cells. The search for thecorresponding channels may make use of the smart features byintelligently searching the interactive media guidance application atthe other user equipment.

It can be expected that several assets, for example local broadcastchannels, video-on-demand (VOD) assets, or locally stored content (DVR)may not always be available at the other location. In this case,inoperable assets/content may be detected by the system and the user maybe informed, for example by a message on the message bar, and thecorresponding cells may be deleted or otherwise marked on the display,at step 1722. This may leave the user with one or more mosaic pages orcells on a mosaic page, at step 1724, which are inaccessible at theother user equipment.

In an alternative embodiment, which is not illustrated, the mosaic pageor respective information about the mosaic page may be stored centrally,for example, at the distribution facility 104 or at any other suitablelocation in the interactive media guidance system 100 (FIG. 1). The pageor information can then be transmitted, optionally in modified form whenthe allocation of the media sources has changed, as described above, tothe other user equipment via any of the communication paths indicated inFIG. 1.

Thus, an interactive television application with smart navigation in anarrangement of cells (a mosaic guide) on a mosaic home page or otherpersonalized pages is provided. One skilled in the art will appreciatethat the present invention can be practiced by other than the describedembodiments, which are presented for purposes of illustration and not oflimitation, and the present invention is limited only by the claimswhich follow.

1-41. (canceled)
 42. A method comprising: generating for display amosaic page including a plurality of cells; receiving, from a user inputdevice, a selection of a first cell of the plurality of cells;retrieving a user preference from a memory; determining, using controlcircuitry, a plurality of media assets matching the retrieved userpreference; determining, using the control circuitry, a media asset fromthe plurality of media assets that is relevant to the user; andgenerating for display the relevant media asset in the selected firstcell.
 43. The method of claim 42, wherein the relevance of the mediaasset to the user is associated with the user's viewing frequency of themedia asset.
 44. The method of claim 42 further comprising generating adisplay, on the mosaic page, of information associated with thedisplayed media asset.
 45. The method of claim 42, wherein a layout ofthe plurality of cells on the mosaic page is selected from at least onetemplate.
 46. The method of claim 42 further comprising associating theuser selected first cell of the mosaic page with interactive features.47. The method of claim 46, wherein the interactive features areaccessed via a remote control device.
 48. The method of claim 46,wherein the interactive features are selected from a group consisting ofa shopping opportunity, a program promotion, a selection of additionalprogram content, a recording button, and availability of interactiveprogram snipes.
 49. The method of claim 42 further comprising providinga plurality of mosaic pages, said plurality of mosaic pages arrangedhierarchically, with each mosaic page containing at least one cellhaving the greatest score indicative of relevance to the user.
 50. Themethod of claim 42 further comprising making information about themosaic page on a first user device available on a second user device.51. The method of claim 50, wherein making the information availablecomprises storing the information on a portable medium, storing theinformation at a central location accessible to the first and seconduser device, or transmitting the information from the first to thesecond user device via a network connection, or a combination thereof.52. A system comprising: a user input device; control circuitryconfigured to: generate for display a mosaic page including a pluralityof cells; receive, from the user input device, a selection of a firstcell of the plurality of cells; retrieve a user preference from amemory; determine a plurality of media assets matching the retrieveduser preference; determine a media asset from the plurality of mediaassets that is relevant to the user; and generate for display therelevant media asset in the selected first cell.
 53. The system of claim52, wherein the relevance of the media asset to the user is associatedwith the user's viewing frequency of the media asset.
 54. The system ofclaim 52, wherein the user equipment further generates a display, on themosaic page, of information associated with the displayed media asset.55. The system of claim 52, wherein a layout of the plurality of cellson the mosaic page is selected from at least one template.
 56. Thesystem of claim 52 wherein the user equipment is configured to associatethe user selected first cell of the mosaic page with interactivefeatures.
 57. The system of claim 56, wherein the interactive featuresare accessed via a remote control device.
 58. The system of claim 56,wherein the interactive features are selected from a group consisting ofa shopping opportunity, a program promotion, a selection of additionalprogram content, a recording button, and availability of interactiveprogram snipes.
 59. The system of claim 52 wherein the user equipment isconfigured to provide a plurality of mosaic pages, said plurality ofmosaic pages arranged hierarchically, with each mosaic page containingat least one cell having the greatest score indicative of relevance tothe user.
 60. The system of claim 52 wherein the user equipment isconfigured to make information about the mosaic page on a first userdevice available on a second user device.
 61. The system of claim 60,wherein the information is made available by storing the information ona portable medium, storing the information at a central locationaccessible to the first and second user device, or transmitting theinformation from the first to the second user device via a networkconnection, or a combination thereof.